Evie McLaren
Evie McLaren is one of the main characters in the spin-off series Mako: Island of Secrets and formerly a major supporting character in the first season becoming a protagonist in seasons 2 & 3. She was played by Gemma Forsyth who also played Suzie in Queen for a Day in Season 3 (H2O: Just Add Water). Pre-Series Evie McLaren was born to Doug and Sarah McLaren in late 1990s. When she was six years-old, she met and became good friends with Zac Blakely. Since at a young age, Evie demonstred interest in the sea and its creatures, by watching a gold fish for hours in a glass bow. In her early years, her mother tragically passed away, leaving her under the care of her widowed father. Description Evie McLaren is Zac’s long-term girlfriend. She’s a good-looking, easy-going girl with a strong work ethic and plenty of ambition. Her mother died several years ago and now it is just Evie and her father looking after each other. They are very close. Evie’s life experience makes her mature beyond her years. This maturity, along with the support of Zac, helps her to deal with the upheaval of becoming a mermaid. Apart from working hard at school, she also works the small shop/dive business outlet at the Ocean Cafe. Evie stocks and sells sporty beachwear items, as well as booking the scuba diving tours and other aquatic activities that her father runs off the local beaches. She always has been a battler. Nothing has ever been delivered to her on a silver platter. Whatever she's achieved, she's done it herself. A keen triathlete, she trains hard on the beach and in the water, which is how she and Zac originally met and began dating. According to Zac, they have been close ever since they were 6, and he has had a crush on her since back then. Both share a love of the beach and an active lifestyle, so it was inevitable that as the years went by during shared training sessions, romance would blossom. It is later revealed that the seeds of Evie's romance with Zac began to sprout during her 12th birthday party as Zac's feelings towards her were shown to be mutual at least by that point. As the series progresses, Evie and Zac are shown to be extremely loving and dedicated to each other. Both of them agree that they are not just boyfriend and girlfriend, they are best friends and neither one can imagine their life without the other. When Nixie, Sirena and Lyla appear on the scene, Evie notices the rather odd, unusual out-of-towners, but only begins to resent their presence when Zac spends increasing amounts of time with them instead of her. Worried that her life is about to come crashing down, Evie cannot help but become suspicious, especially of Lyla. She and Zac used to have something really good going on. Is this newcomer going to mean the end of that? As Zac grows closer to Lyla and Evie notices them holding hands, she is pushed over the edge with his lies and breaks up with him. This changes when Zac ends his friendship with the mermaids after learning about their deception. He apologizes to her and they make up at some point off screen. Her suspicions and resentment of the mermaids continue to grow and she realizes they are hiding something and becomes determined to find out what. Eventually, Evie found out all about Zac and the mermaids and was able to embrace her boyfriend's differences. She apologized to Lyla and the others for judging them too quickly and she became a part of the group. Season 2 With the mermaids not around (except Sirena) and Zac's severed friendship with Cam, Evie becomes Zac's primary source of support on merman business. She is now completely content with being a part of her boyfriend's double life and her support has now caused Zac to fully embrace being a merman. On the night of the seventh cycle, when Zac was struggling to fight the pull of the moon drawing him to Mako, Evie joined Sirena and Cam to keep him from leaving. Ondina and Mimmi disrupted this by using their powers to throw Cam aside so Zac will stop arguing with him and give in to Mako's pull. They then pursue him as he makes his way to Mako Island. Evie and Cam took the boat out to Mako, Evie anxious that Ondina and Mimmi would hurt Zac in the process of draining his powers. Unaware that the full moon was overhead, Evie swam in through to the moon pool, appearing next to Zac right at the time the moon passed overhead. Evie initially believed that she would not become a mermaid, and Zac disagreed. The next day, he followed her out to the docks, where she got herself wet purposefully (to prove to Zac he was wrong) and fell in - transforming for the first time. At first, she is greatly distressed by this and completely resents Ondina and Mimmi for causing her transformation. With support from Zac however, she is gradually able to accept being a mermaid. However, as Evie begins having problems such as dealing with falling under a moon spell and learning to control her powers, it becomes harder for Zac to help her when he begins facing more complications of his own such as the 7th moon cycle and the merman chamber. Throughout this season, Evie becomes close friends with Sirena. She also in time becomes friends with Mimmi and Ondina. Sirena becomes like a mentor to Evie and with her guidance, she becomes very skilled with her powers and learns to stay in control during a full moon. Unfortunately, this moment of triumph becomes bitter sweet when Zac learns the hard truth that he is a real merman, is adopted, and that Mimmi is his sister. When Zac then decides he wants nothing to do with the group, Evie is no exception at first, though she is understanding of his pain. Although Zac slightly opens up to her again later, his attempts to bottle his emotions give Evie the wrong idea that he has recovered. Her attempts to praise and console him only make him feel worse and he has a tearful outburst over the pain of not knowing who he is. When they next meet, Evie begins losing patience as Zac pushes her away more and they almost have a fallout. She calms down when two obnoxious lifeguards take notice of the situation and Evie tries to defend Zac when one of them takes the opportunity to belittle Zac and try to turn Evie against him possibly out of jealousy as he suggests that Evie could do way better then Zac. Enraged by this, Zac proceeds to attack them and Evie is unable to convince him to stop until Mimmi arrives and rebukes him for taking the things he has for granted such as his parents while she has had no family until now. Evie is then able to convince Zac to talk to his parents for answers before she and Mimmi take their leave, realizing that Zac must resolve his problems alone. Following this, Zac is able to come to terms with who he is and Evie reconciles with him. Evie joins the others as they explore mermaid magic. She cannot help but feel concerned for Zac as he along with Erik try to discover the secret of the merman chamber. Later, Carly becomes close to discovering her secret when she witnesses Evie lose control of her powers when she catches a cold. Evie believes she must now tell her the truth as she does not want to lose her best friend, but the others don't allow it. However, when the mermaids and Zac transform after a snow fall, Carly sees their tails and Evie then reveals herself as well. Although Carly is upset at first, she quickly forgives Evie and agrees to keep secret, much to her delight. It grows apparent that danger is around the corner when the group discovers the chamber is activated by the stone that came from the trident and that Erik will go to great lengths to get his hands on it. When Erik gets the stone and it takes Zac's powers, Evie tries to encourage him, but he has seemingly lost all hope. She later realizes that Zac has gone to Mako to stop Erik and wants to go also, but Rita warns her against it claiming Erik is to powerful and the mermaids will soon arrive to help Zac. When Erik activates the chamber, Evie witnesses the effect it has on Rita and is the only one unaffected. She then decides she must take action, and arrives in time to help an injured Zac to his feet so he can stop the chamber. He succeeds, but tragically it seems that this act of bravery has cost Zac his life, and Evie is horrified when she realizes that Zac is neither moving or breathing as she attempts to awaken him. When Evie frantically tells the mermaids to use their moon rings to heal him, Sirena and Ondina painfully inform her that they are unable to because the stone has drained their magic. With it now seemingly too late for Zac, Evie soon breaks down in tears utterly heartbroken over the loss of her beloved boyfriend and mourns his loss along with an equally heartbroken Mimmi. Fortunately, Mimmi is able to heal him with the stone, much to Evie's great joy. Afterwards, Veridia awards Evie her own moon ring and makes her and Zac honorary members of the pod. Evie and the other then leave for Mako to greet the pod, now fully accepting of her life as a mermaid. Season 3 In season 3, Evie is still mastering her powers including her new moon ring. Since being accepted into the pod, she now spends a great deal of time with Ondina and Mimmi out at sea. The three mermaids also hang out on land at Rita's grotto and the cafe along with her boy friend Zac and her friends Carly, Cam, and David. She is later introduced to a new mermaid named Weilan just before she, Ondina and Mimmi proceed to take part in the full moon ceremony. As they enter the sea, they are horrified when they find themselves face to face with a 60 ft water dragon. When Weilan and Zac arrive, the group soon retreats to warn the pod and they then dedicate the remainder of the season trying to find a way to defeat the dragon. During the first half of season 3, Evie dedicates most of her time trying to learn to master her moon ring and she also finds a mentor in Ondina after convincing her to teach her. However, some of these moon rings lessons have their quirks such as in "Mopping Up" where Evie causes a mop to develop a mind of it's own and "New Beginnings" where she causes Weilan and Ondina to be stuck floating in midair. In time, Evie does manage to learn how to use her moon ring better. During this time Evie's relationship with Zac is strained to a small degree. With all of the time Evie spends with the mermaids and learning to use her powers, she spends considerably less time with Zac then she used to. Although Zac is supportive of Evie's desire to learn how to use her moon ring, he cannot help but feel a little neglected which Evie eventually begins to notice. She then takes a moment to explain to him how much of an honor she considers receiving her moon ring and why it is so important she learn to use it which Zac fully understands. However, this strain would grow when Zac learns from Evie, of a technique Weilan knows, called "Turn the Tide", that reflects magic which he hopes to learn to use against the dragon. After convincing Weilan to teach him, Zac lies to Evie as they prepare to take part in a group science project on Mako claiming to have another idea for it. Later, Evie catches Zac engaging in a celebratory hug with Weilan after he successfully masters Turn the Tide, causing her to mistakenly believe that Zac is cheating on her. Feeling utterly betrayed, Evie runs off in heartbreak despite Zac's pleas to let him explain. Zac later catches up to her and explains that Weilan was merely teaching him eastern spells he could not wait to try out. Knowing full well what it is like to be excited about magic, Evie believes Zac's explanation and they embrace and reconcile after Zac promises her that he and Weilan are nothing more then good friends. As the mermaids prepare to face the dragon, Evie contemplates joining them feeling it's her duty to help as a mermaid with a moon ring but is seemingly talked out of it by Zac who arranges a movie night with her. Later, Evie decides to join Ondina and Mimmi after all and she enlists Carly to keep Zac occupied until she returns believing Zac would try to stop her if he knew. However, Evie is unaware that Zac had secretly been planning all along to face the dragon himself after learning "Turn the Tide" from Weilan and that the he had already recruited Cam to perform the same task as Carly knowing Evie would try to stop him if she knew. As Evie prepares to meet Mimmi and Ondina, she notices Zac with Weilan again and realizes they are up to something. Evie confronts Weilan on what they are doing and although Weilan tries to get her to drop it, she does not let up. Realizing that Zac is planning to fight the dragon in the moon pool, Evie frantically swims off after him despite Weilan's pleas to not interfere. After arriving in the moon pool, Evie soon finds Zac and the dragon appears to them before Zac can send her off. While trying to help Zac fight the Water Dragon, she is struck by the dragon's fire breath causing her to lose her powers and her tail. Afterwards Evie is left devastated over the loss of her powers. Mimmi and Ondina try to restore them by using the Fifty Moons Potion but this fails. Eventually, Evie is able to accept her fate as a land girl again and decides to take advantage of being an ordinary girl again even if she will miss being a mermaid. After returning her moon ring to Rita, Evie resolves to resume her career as a diver so she can continue to spend time with her mermaid friends and also go back to diving with her dad which she had been unable to do since becoming a mermaid. During the second half of season 3, Evie returns to her original role as a supporter for Zac and the mermaids and does not play as large of a role in their conflict with the dragon. She also returns to spending more quality time with Zac since she no longer has the responsibilities of being a mermaid to deal with. In the season climax, Evie is delighted to learn that Zac has reunited with his long lost birth mother Nerissa. As Zac contemplates telling his adoptive parents about his true origins, Evie gives him her full support and proceeds to nuzzle her beloved boyfriend with their love for one another being stronger then ever. Ultimately the minor strain they suffered in their relationship during this season proves just how strong it really is. Despite both of them finding themselves in situations where one unintentionally upsets the other such as Evie's mermaid business and Zac's strong friendship with Weilan, they never let it turn break out into a conflict and continue to be there for one another. Mermaid Powers Evie possessed the ability to transform into a mermaid ten seconds after physical contact with water. Once her body was completely dry, she turned back into human along with the outfit she was wearing before she transformed. Just like Sirena, Ondina and Mimmi, she had the ability to swim at a super speed, hold her breath for more than fifteen minutes, and dive at a depth lower than any ordinary human being is capable of. As Evie was the only human at the time of her transformation at the Moon Pool of Mako Island, she was gifted with all regular and weather powers, but she only displayed the powers of Telekinesis, Hydrokinesis and Hydro-Thermokinesis. Evie also had the natural ability that all merpeople have to become herself invisible. Unfortunately, the Water Dragon deprived Evie of her tail and all of her mermaid powers and abilities, and she became a human once again. She was also forced to give up her Moon Ring, giving it back to Mako's Mermaid Coucil. Weaknesses Before her transformation, Evie had all the typical weaknesses of a human. When she transformed, she was susceptible to all the weaknesses of a mermaid. Being deprived of her tail and abilities permanently, Evie has again all the weaknesses of a human being. Quotes *'Evie:' (to Zac) It's lucky I love you for who you are, not what you are. *'Evie': (to Cam) I don't even know why I talk to you sometimes! Trivia *Evie's character's last name has been confirmed as McLaren, the same as the last name of Angus McLaren, the actor who played Lewis on H2O: Just Add Water. * Evie is the editor of the school magazine with David as her photographer. *As of "Reunion", Evie is officially the only land person on Mako Mermaids to become a mermaid through the power of the Full Moon and the Moon Pool, much like Cleo, Emma, Bella, Rikki and Charlotte in H2O: Just Add Water. * Evie was a mermaid from the beginning of Season 2 until about halfway through the third season. * Evie acquired her Moon Ring in the final episode of season two. * She had given back her moon ring by the middle of season three. * When Evie was little, she had a pet goldfish and would look at the bowl for hours on end. * Evie and Zac have known each other since they were six years old similar to Cleo and Lewis and they have had a mutual crush on each other at some point before Evie turned twelve years old. * Like Cleo Sertori in the beginning, Evie did not enjoy being a mermaid until she went for a swim since her transformation. *She is the first mermaid to lose her tail in the spin-off series, and the fourth one overall. Like Charlotte, losing her tail was involuntarily. *Some fans speculate that with the Water Dragon gone, her tail might come back. *She is similar to Charlotte in many ways: **Both serve as the "fourth mermaid" of their respective series', separate from the main trios of mermaids, but associated with them in some form. **Both become a mermaid in the second seasons of their respective series'. **Both seem to live with a single parent (Evie with her father, Charlotte with her mother). **Both appear to be an only child. **Both serve as a love interest for the primary male character of their respective series' (Evie for Zac, Charlotte for Lewis). **Both are involved in a romantic rivalry of sorts with another mermaid for the affections of their boyfriends (Evie with Lyla, Charlotte with Cleo). **Both spend their initial seasons being continuously kept unaware of the existence of mermaids by their boyfriends (and with both growing increasingly suspicious of what's really going on as the seasons progress) before finding out towards the end of the season. **Both have a strained relationship with the other mermaids at some stage. **Both throw a surprise party for their boyfriends at some point (a regular pool party in Evie's case, and an actual birthday party in Charlotte's case). **Both transform into a mermaid for the first time on-screen by falling (in Evie's case) or jumping (in Charlotte's case) off a pier in front of their respective boyfriends. **Both levitate the other mermaids at some point (accidentally in Evie's case, purposefully in Charlotte's case). **Both lose their powers in the Moon Pool, after following their love interests to Mako Island (Evie followed Zac against his will, whereas Charlotte was "lured" there by Lewis, despite already knowing what he was up to). **Both, after losing their powers, symbolically relinquish an item of jewelry they acquired during their time as mermaids (Evie returns her Moon Ring to the Pod via Rita, while Charlotte returns Gracie's locket to Cleo via Lewis). **Unlike Charlotte, Evie doesn't become a antagonist, doesn't abuse her powers, and becomes friends with the other mermaids eventually. **Also unlike Charlotte Evie became a mermaid by accident while trying to protect Zac from Mimmi & Ondina whereas Charlotte became a mermaid on purpose thinking she was meant to be one like her grandmother Gracie. 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